


Paying Attention

by TheLastOfJediKnights



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Established Relationship, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Kanera Trope-Athon, Prompt Fic, Randomness, Tumblr Prompt, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-10-28 06:08:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10825356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLastOfJediKnights/pseuds/TheLastOfJediKnights
Summary: In which Kanan and Hera go undercover in order to steal an Imperial Datacube and get carried away with flirting.





	Paying Attention

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Kanera Fic-A-Thon](https://kanera-ficathon.tumblr.com), using the _AU/Crack Prompt: Going Undercover as [you choose]_
> 
> Also, this was supposed to be set during season 1, but looking back over it I realised I threw Kallus into this (I blame all the Kalluzeb art I looked at before I wrote this), so lets just say it's a modified canon au where Kallus leaves the Empire early....
> 
> So listen, I've been really depressed for a while and then this Kanera-thon came along and I decided I'd at least try to start writing again and apparently seeing the post that the ficathon was open last night at 2am really inspired me, cos last night I wrote a fic of 1,500 words, and I woke up with a bunch of new story ideas for the prompts so... yeah.

It felt... right to be back. 

The smell of incense reeking through the walls of the Jedi temple, the burn of the smoke on the ruins of a battlefield, the subtle hum of the engine of the Ghost.

Nothing could compare to this. 

A drunkard belched loudly in the center of the room to the applaud and congratulations of his contemporaries. 

_Nothing could compare._

Sure, this wasn't as...friendly...as the bars Kanan had habitually frequented while he on the run. It was certainly not The Asteroid Belt. In fact, he thought as he observed the room, people of all species laughing happily or moping in corners, not a fight brewing in sight, this place was practically a Core World bar. How it had survived this long on the Outer Rims, Kanan had no idea. 

But he wasn't here to muse on the comings and goings of business trends in the booze business. His business was....

He craned his head. 

_Her._

Hera walked into the room, scarf wrapped alluringly around her neck, dressed in soft blues that only served to complement her green skin in ways he'd never even thought to think about. If this  _had_ been Gorse, every creature would've been on her in a second, cooing and vying for her attention. Kanan might even have joined them. Well, if it had been Hera, he'd've been first in line. But instead, they all gave her approving looks and went back to their business. Kanan noted all the people whose eyes lingered a little too long in the back of his mind. Just in case. 

Hera wandered up to the bar and planted her elbows on the bar. "Corellian Ale," she requested, a hint of something promising in her tone. Kanan smiled and stepped over to her, pouring the requested drink, tamping down on the urge to woo her with a party trick. A tiny bit of flare. A glass toss here, a little bit of a force push.... But no, instead he'd go with - 

"Big drink for such a pretty girl," he murmured to her. 

She gave him a despairing look and touched her ear cone anxiously. Kanan knew she missed her pilot's outfit, all the covering it provided. It must be hard to be a Twi'lek away from Ryloth, he knew, where they were treated as sex slaves, every curve of their body objectified. And that was before the Republic fell and the Imperials decided non-humans were non-beings. He felt a surge of protectiveness that he instantly stifled. Hera was her own woman, and she definitely didn't need him stepping in to fight her battles....or any sentient who look at her lustfully. Besides, he had the most important thing already. 

Her heart. 

He grinned cheezily at her. 

She raised an eyebrow in return. "Zeb and Kallus are on the roof," she informed him in a low, soothing voice, whispered in his ear to look like she was flirting. "And Ezra is outside." 

His stomach rolled excitedly. That voice could make anything seductive. It was distracting. If she had been part of the Jedi tests, he'd have failed detachment immediately. He would've given up everything for her...and he sort of had. 

"Sabine?" he asked, as if he'd been paying attention. 

She gave him a suspicious look, but answered dutifully, reaching over to smooth some imagined crease in his top. Her hand was warm on his chest for that second. "She's set up a few blocks away. Where we left her," she added emphatically. 

He shrugged loosely. "Just making sure you're paying attention." 

She pulled a face at him and took a less than enthusiastic sip of her drink. "You do remember the plan, right?" 

"Of course," he boasted, trying to quell the urge to run fingers over the patterns on her lekku. "Now, ma'am, I have other people to serve," he said, indicating some new patrons who had strolled up to the bar. "Good luck with your treason." 

She snorted and shot a look over her shoulder to the door.  _Soon._

He shrugged again and wandered over to the newbies, keeping one eye on the beautiful woman sat at his bar the whole time. 

They hadn't had many 'undercover gigs' in a while now, not since they'd 'officially' joined the Rebellion. But one of their informants here on this backwater planet needed a few volunteers for a risky, high level and yet somehow uninteresting mission. It was high stakes without feeling high stakes. Here he was with his beautiful lover, _his Hera_ , sat in the most beautiful outfit he'd seen her in - as long as naked didn't count as an outfit because....well  _because...-_ and his role in this this was just to flirt with her all night and serve a few drinks. He was the backup plan and for once he was happy for it. 

He'd missed this. 

Hera shifted subtly. If he hadn't known every inch of her so well, he'd never had noticed it. But the target had just walked into the bar. 

The highest ranking Imperial on the planet, if you could call him 'high ranking'. Hera touched the bottom of her lek before picking up her drink and standing up abruptly, turning straight into the man. There was a shocked gasp, a floundering of hands, Hera apologising so loudly as she tried to wipe off the ale she's spilt down his front and steal a pretty important datacube from his belt while she did so. He smiled enthusiastically as a few of the regulars walked up to the bar to order new drinks. 

"So when's our bartender coming back?" asked a flirty, drunk Devaronian asked, leaning on the counter. 

Kanan smirked at him. "Oh he'll be back tomorrow," he assured the man as he poured him a drink. Not likely, Kanan thought. The bartender was part of the Rebellion and had already left the world earlier that morning. When the Imperial Datacube was discovered missing, everyone would be screened thoroughly. The bartender had only gotten along this far because this planet was so unimportant it was practically a joke. But it got him this gig, and it had got them this far. 

All that mattered now was hoping that the man wouldn't notice the theft till the next morning. Hera was placing her cup on the bar and Kanan stepped forward. 

"I'll take that," he said proudly, taking the cup - and the datacube - from her hand. The Imperial didn't notice, too busy staring at Hera's neck. 

Kanan didn't feel jealous. Not much. Not like he was of the other people in the bar, the men Hera wasn't here purposely to trick. Then Hera laughed coyly and Kanan's eyes narrowed and he busied himself on the other end of the bar. He let himself wonder how the others were doing. Zeb and Kallus were probably enjoying themselves on the roof together. They were the main part of plan B. If the theft was discovered, stormtroopers would, well, storm the place. Zeb and Kallus were up top to stall them so Hera and Kanan had a chance to run. Ezra was the lookout and Sabine was protecting the rendezvous point.  And Kanan was here sorting the ales from the brandy. The previous bartender had no system, the alcohol just thrown haphazardly wherever. No professional pride.

He was so busy scolding the rebellious bartender, he didn't sense Hera reapproach the bar until she'd cleared her throat. His head darted up. 

"Another ale, please," Hera requested, a flirtacious look on her face. 

Kanan sidled up to her. "What happened to your Imperial?" 

Hera nodded over to the Imperial, happily sat next to the flirty Devaronian from earlier. Kanan raised an eyebrow. "I almost feel sorry for him." 

"The Imperial who was organizing to have this whole planet, along with many others, might I add, razed to the ground, or the Devaronian who's well aware that officer is a..." she paused and bit her lip, trying to find a polite term, "bad man." Kanan smirked at her as she continued unfazed, "and has decided to take advantage of him." 

Kanan shrugged. "The Devaronian is going to be suspect one." 

"Well, if you're worried, you can always confess right now," she said in a low voice as she leant over the counter. 

Kanan hesitated for a second - it wasn't fair for someone else to get caught in their mess, even if it's for the purpose of saving millions of lives - and a smile appeared on Hera's face. 

"What?"

"You've grown," she accused. 

He made an appalled noise. 

"Didn't I order a drink?" she interrupted before he could make an attempt at a response. 

He scowled playfully at her and poured her another drink. "Try not to spill it on anyone." 

Hera took the drink and her expression softened. "The Devaronian is scheduled to leave in a few hours. As long as the theft isn't noticed right now, he'll be gone before we are." 

Kanan snorted at her. "And you accused me of going soft." 

"I didn't say that," Hera protested, a finger gently circling the rim of the drink. Kanan's eyes followed it's track and the craving to touch her welled up inside him again. The only problem with undercover was the distance between them. He reached out and caught her wrist. 

"It's better to drink that," he suggested, before letting her hand go. 

She smiled back at him. "Is that so?" 

"It's my expert advice," he retorted. 

"How _fascinating_." 

Kanan nodded and leant closer to her. "I have other things I could teach you." 

Her eyes widened in shock and she snorted. Then she burst into full on laughter, slapping a hand over her mouth to try and stifle the fountain of musical chuckles as quite a few of the patrons looked at her in alarm. 

Kanan gave her a look, grabbed a rag and strode off to clean an imaginary stain on the other side of the bar as Hera tried to regain her composure. 

When she'd finally stopped, he walked back to her. "You done?" 

She shrugged and smiled genuinely at him, teeth flashing. "I'm always happy to learn new things," she teased. 

He rolled his eyes. "You lost your chance." 

She pursed her lips in mock unhappiness. "Karabast." 

Something warm was brewing in his chest as their back-and-forth developed. Just the two of them. Flirting. Teasing. No war, no Rebels, no Jedi. Just the two of them. Hera had lost her hard edge, the tension in her body having gave away to something relaxed. Faked, maybe, but relaxed. And here he was, the no-good bartender. He wasn't a teacher, he didn't have responsibilities, his only worry that one of the patrons would start a fight - not that these guys were the fighting kind of drunks.

"Maybe you should hold back on the drink," Kanan suggested. 

"Is that your first lesson?" 

"It's friendly advice." 

"You're not a good bartender." 

"Between you and me, I'm not even a bartender." 

She gasped in an un-Hera-like fashion. "Scandal." 

He shrugged in his role as the Gossip with juicy rumors. "That's how it is, I'm afraid."

"So then," her eyes gleamed. "What are you?" 

He looked both ways warily, before ducking down to whisper in her ear. "I'm a Rebel." 

Hera widened her eyes in mock shock, and a real smile fell through Kanan's persona. 

This was fun. 

Being here, with her, playing out a scene.... 

"I get off in a few hours, if you'd like to _talk_ more," he offered out of nowhere. 

Hera blinked at him and her eyes darkened, her real personality showing through for just a second. "I'd love to." 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah I had no real plan for this and it sort of drifted off at the end, I'm sorry, I just wanted to write about Kanan being back in his element, I'm sorry.


End file.
